Findings: World Maps
Quantitative Data
100% of the students identified the inner-circle countries as countries who make use of English. This shows either a general knowledge of this information or a retainment of the information provided to them during the first phase. It is interesting to see that India was identified by 70% of the students, the second highest percentage, over countries in Europe, South America, or Asia (the countries where the students originate from). I attribute this to the fact that I used India as an example of an expanding-circle country, one that was colonized by Great Britain, and that it has the second highest percentage of English speakers in the world (McKay, 2002). When I reassess the findings from the Circles of Englishes Worksheet, I realized that 100% of the students used India as an example of an expanding-circle country. Thus, either from previous information or from the information within phase one, most of the students were able to recall these facts while working on the maps.
It is important to highlight the fact that 0% of the students circled countries within South America or the Middle East, only 20% of the students circled countries from Southeast Asia, and 40% of the students circled countries within Europe. I had predicted that from the Circles of Englishes Worksheet and the discussion questions that were addressed in phase one, the students would have identified a wider range of countries as users of English. Based on this data, it seemed as though the majority of the students were still unsure of whether or not countries outside of the inner-circle use English for official or special purposes.
100% of the students identified the inner-circle countries as countries who make use of English. This shows either a general knowledge of this information or a retainment of the information provided to them during the first phase. It is interesting to see that India was identified by 70% of the students, the second highest percentage, over countries in Europe, South America, or Asia (the countries where the students originate from). I attribute this to the fact that I used India as an example of an expanding-circle country, one that was colonized by Great Britain, and that it has the second highest percentage of English speakers in the world (McKay, 2002). When I reassess the findings from the Circles of Englishes Worksheet, I realized that 100% of the students used India as an example of an expanding-circle country. Thus, either from previous information or from the information within phase one, most of the students were able to recall these facts while working on the maps.
It is important to highlight the fact that 0% of the students circled countries within South America or the Middle East, only 20% of the students circled countries from Southeast Asia, and 40% of the students circled countries within Europe. I had predicted that from the Circles of Englishes Worksheet and the discussion questions that were addressed in phase one, the students would have identified a wider range of countries as users of English. Based on this data, it seemed as though the majority of the students were still unsure of whether or not countries outside of the inner-circle use English for official or special purposes.
Examples